Friends of the Earth Petition to Lowe’s to Stop Pesticide Sales

Posted on July 2, 2014 by GarryRogers

Home Depot responded to our Valentine’s Day wishes, and we are now in dialogue with the company. This is a critical step in the right direction, and we are hopeful that they will be a leader in bee protection moving forward.

But we still have a lot of work to do. Lowe’s continues to give us the silent treatment.

Moving forward, we need to increase the buzz to secure strong commitments from Home Depot and send Lowe’s a strong message that they can’t continue to sell bee-killing pesticides

Source: action.foe.org

GR: FOE’s petition will go to Lowe’s CEO.

New tests find bee-killing pesticides in 51% of “bee-friendly” plants from garden centers across U.S. and Canada

Posted on July 2, 2014 by GarryRogers

Washington, D.C. – “Many “bee-friendly” home garden plants sold at Home Depot (NYSE: HD), Lowe’s (NYSE: LOW) and Walmart (NYSE: WMT) have been pre-treated with pesticides shown to harm and kill bees, according to a study released today by Friends of the Earth and allies.

“The study, Gardeners Beware 2014, shows that 36 out of 71 (51 percent) of garden plant samples purchased at top garden retailers in 18 cities in the United States and Canada contain neonicotinoid (neonic) pesticides — a key contributor to recent bee declines. Some of the flowers contained neonic levels high enough to kill bees outright assuming comparable concentrations are present in the flowers’ pollen and nectar. Further, 40 percent of the positive samples contained two or more neonics.

“The study is a larger follow up to a first-of-its-kind pilot study released by Friends of the Earth last August. The new study expanded the number of samples and number of locations where plants were purchased, and also assessed the distribution of neonic pesticides between flowers and the rest of the plant.

“The high percentage of contaminated plants and their neonicotinoid concentrations suggest that this problem continues to be widespread,” said Lisa Archer, director of the Food & Technology program at Friends of the Earth-U.S. “Most gardeners have no idea that their gardens may be a source of harm to bees. We’re calling on retailers to get neonicotinoid pesticides out of their plants and off their shelves as soon as possible. Until then, gardeners should buy organic plants to ensure the safety of bees.

“Our data indicate that many plants sold in nurseries and garden stores across the U.S. and Canada are being pre-treated with systemic neonicotinoid insecticides, making them potentially toxic to pollinators,” said Timothy Brown, Ph.D., co-author of the report from the Pesticide Research Institute. “Unfortunately, these pesticides don’t break down quickly so these plants could be toxic to bees for years to come.”

Source: www.foe.org

GR: The dangers of pesticides are pervasive and worth repeating. Weed managers spray millions of gallons of pesticides on crops, along roads, and in parks. The U. S. Bureau of Land Management uses pesticides throughout the public lands of the 17 western U. S. states. The farm upstream from my home has weed-free zones that are probably maintained by pesticides. Bees serving as pollinators on the farm catch a full dose. Bees in yards and gardens downstream from the farm receive small doses that washed off the farm into the stream and into the groundwater. When home gardeners respond to the massive pesticide marketing efforts and use pesticides around their homes, they easily reach lethal levels.

IUCN: Pesticides Pose A Global Threat To Biodiversity And Ecosystems

Posted on June 25, 2014 by GarryRogers

Systemic pesticides pose global threat to biodiversity and ecosystem services.

The conclusions of a new meta-analysis of the systemic pesticides neonicotinoids and fipronil (neonics) confirm that they are causing significant damage to a wide range of beneficial invertebrate species and are a key factor in the decline of bees.

Concern about the impact of systemic pesticides on a variety of beneficial species has been growing for the last 20 years but the science has not been considered conclusive until now.

Undertaking a full analysis of all the available literature (800 peer-reviewed reports) the Task Force on Systemic Pesticides – a group of global, independent scientists affiliated with the IUCN Commission on Ecosystem Management and the IUCN Species Survival Commission has found that there is clear evidence of harm sufficient to trigger regulatory action.

(Photograph: David R. Frazier/Alamy)

Source: havehest.wordpress.com

GR: This article from IUCN is about insecticides. Herbicides are equally dangerous. When I finally got my own place and began preparing pastures for cattle (pets, not food), I used mechanical means (mowing and pulling) to subdue the weeds. The weeds (most were human-introduced invasive species from Asia) kept spreading.

My father said the herbicide “2,4-D” was safe for people and animals. I checked the literature and found hundreds of studies confirming the harmless nature of the compound. I began using it. I never used the insecticides. Studies showing the damaging effects of “2,4-D” began appearing, and I stopped using it. Numerous studies have since shown links between “2,4-D” to everything from cancer to food-chain disruption to colony collapse in bees.

Mechanical weed removal is initially more expensive than the herbicides, but it is the only safe option. Mechanical weed removal is one step in an effective weed management. My website (http://garryrogers.com/nature) has descriptions of the other steps required for efficient weed control.

Bat Future Uncertain as Numbers Decline

Posted on April 13, 2013 by GarryRogers

Benefits of Bats

Bat Watching at Congress St Bridge–Austin TX

Bats are encouraged to reside in many places because they eat insects and pollinate plants. Austin, Texas, for instance, is proud of its large bat population, and refers to itself as Bat City. I am anxious to see more bats near my home because they eat mosquitoes, my personal nemesis. Little Brown Bats can eat 1,000 mosquitoes per hour.

GBH proividing scale for my bat house. A bat house built in my back yard in 2004 remained vacant until 2011. The house has room for 600 bats, but only 11 moved in. The number did not increase in 2012—still waiting to see what happens in 2013. The house is near three large stock ponds. Dragonflies, hummingbirds, flycatchers, and swallows find plenty of insects to eat during the day, so it seems reasonable to expect the house will eventually be home to more than 11 bats.